System and method of providing advertisements to vehicles

ABSTRACT

A system and method of providing advertisements to vehicles is disclosed. An apparatus that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a server having a controller adapted to communicate with a wireless access point and a database where the wireless access point is deployed in proximity to a target location and where the database stores format information associated with a type of media file supported by a media system of a vehicle, determine a location of a communication device that can communicate with a data network independently of the media system as the communication device travels in the vehicle, determine whether the communication device is within a target region, determine the type of media file supported by the vehicle media system using the database, transmit media content in the desired format via the wireless access point to the communication device for presentation on the media system when the communication device enters the target region, and cease transmission of the media content when the communication device leaves the target region. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/604,466, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,916,678, filed with the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 23, 2009, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/549,324, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,646,740, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 13,2006, the entirety of both of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications andmore specifically to a system and method of providing advertisements tovehicles.

BACKGROUND

Portable communication devices, e.g., cellular telephones, portabledigital assistants, 802.11 devices, are very useful for obtaininginformation while traveling. For example, a user can call an informationservice to obtain the location of a gas station, restaurant, etc.Further, a user can access the Internet or a Wide Area Network via aportable communication device and input a query in order to obtaininformation about a business, a local attraction, a civic event, or anyother point of interest. These systems are not proactive and require aninput from a user before information about a business, location, etc. issent to the requesting device.

Additionally, GPS systems have been provided that can track the locationof a user and show the location of the user on an electronic map.However, these systems include limited information and typically, theelectronic map provided by the GPS system is simply a map with littleother information, e.g., information about the hours of operation of aparticular business or point of interest. Also, with the proliferationof various different device types and media requirements it is difficultto distribute an advertisement in a single format.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved system and method ofproviding advertisements to vehicles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary block diagram a wireless communicationsystem over which one or more advertisements can be transmitted;

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary flowchart of a method of transmittingadvertisements associated one or more businesses at a freeway exit; and

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system within which a set of instructions, whenexecuted, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure provide a systemand method of providing advertisements to vehicles.

In a first embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of providingmedia content is provided. The method can operate in a server and caninclude determining a location of a portable communication device incommunication with a data network as the communication device travels ina vehicle where the communication device is removable from and operableindependent of the vehicle, determining whether the communication deviceis within a desired range of a target location, polling thecommunication device to determine a type of media file supported by amedia system of the vehicle, obtaining media content in a formatcorresponding to the determined type of media file, transmitting themedia content to the communication device for presentation on the mediasystem of the vehicle when the communication device is determined to bewithin the desired range, determining whether the communication deviceis outside the desired range, and terminating transmission of the mediacontent when the communication device is determined to be outside thedesired range.

In a second embodiment of the present disclosure, a server is providedthat can include a controller adapted to communicate with a wirelessaccess point and a database where the wireless access point is deployedin proximity to a target location and where the database stores formatinformation associated with a type of media file supported by a mediasystem of a vehicle, determine a location of a communication device thatcan communicate with a data network independently of the media system asthe communication device travels in the vehicle, determine whether thecommunication device is within a target region, determine the type ofmedia file supported by the vehicle media system using the database,transmit media content in the desired format via the wireless accesspoint to the communication device for presentation on the media systemwhen the communication device enters the target region, and ceasetransmission of the media content when the communication device leavesthe target region.

In a third embodiment of the present disclosure, a portablecommunication device is provided that can include a controller adaptedto communicate with a wireless access point and a media system where thewireless access point is deployed in proximity to a target locationwhere the media system is integral with a vehicle, wherein thecommunication device is removable from and operable independent of thevehicle, obtain vehicle identification information associated with thevehicle, transmit the vehicle identification to a server via thewireless access point in response to a polling message transmitted fromthe server where a desired format of media content corresponding to atype of media file supported by the vehicle media system is determinedusing the vehicle identification, transmit location information to theserver via the wireless access point where a location of thecommunication device is determined as the communication device travelsin the vehicle, receive media content from the server via the wirelessaccess point in the desired format when the communication device iswithin a desired range of the target location, and transmit the mediacontent to the vehicle media system for presentation on a display of themedia system.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system of advertising to wireless devices isshown and is generally designated 100. As shown, the system 100 includesa system server 102 coupled to a wireless antenna 104. The wirelessantenna 104 provides a coverage area 106 for the system 100. As depictedin FIG. 1, the system server 102 includes a processor 108 and a computerreadable medium 110 that is accessible to the processor 108. A database112 is also coupled to the system server 102. In a particularembodiment, the database 112 includes vehicle information, e.g., theidentifications of make, year and models of motor vehicles and the mediasystems supported in said vehicles. Further, the database 112 caninclude a plurality of advertisements associated with one or morebusinesses within the coverage area provided by the system 100 shown inFIG. 1. As shown, the system server 102, the processor 108, the computerreadable medium 110, and the database 112 can be co-located at a serviceprovider 114.

FIG. 1 further shows that a computer 116 can be coupled to the systemserver 102 via the Internet or a Wide Area Network 118. A system manageror some other person, e.g., a subscriber, can communicate with thesystem server 102 using the computer 116. As illustrated in FIG. 1,wireless antennas 104 can be deployed in system 100 so that the coveragearea 106 provided by the wireless antenna 104 overlaps a freeway 120. Ina particular embodiment, the freeway 120 can be any type of roadway usedto carry public transportation, e.g., one or more vehicles 122. Also,the freeway 120 can include at least one freeway exit 124 that providesaccess to one or more businesses 126. The wireless antenna 104 can bedeployed so that it is adjacent to, or proximal to, the freeway exit124. Further, the wireless antenna 104 can be deployed so that it isadjacent to, or proximal to, a point of interest 128.

Other wireless antennas 103 and 105 can be deployed throughout system100. Like antenna 104, antennas 103 and 105 can be accessed by systemserver 102 to transmit and receive signals from the portablecommunication devices (PCDs) 130 as directed by system server 102, andcan be used for locating the PCD 130 using common triangulationtechniques. The antennas 103-105 can operate according to anycommunication protocol or standard including IEEE's 802 protocols suchas 802.1-802.22 (e.g., WiFi, WiMax and so on), and cellular telephonystandards (e.g., UMTS, CDMA, GSM, and so on), Ultra Wide Band (UWB), andSoftware Defined Radio (SDR)—just to mention a few.

In a particular embodiment, the system server 102 can include a computerprogram embedded within the computer readable medium 110. The computerprogram can include logic to execute a method that allows the systemserver 102 to monitor by way of antennas 103-105 or by locationinformation supplied by the PCDs 130 the movement of a PCD 130 locatedin the vehicle 122 as it progresses along a highway. As the vehicle 122and the PCD 130 approach the freeway exit 124, one or moreadvertisements associated with the business 128 that is accessible viathe freeway exit can be automatically transmitted to the PCD 130 andpresented on a media system 132 of the vehicle 122.

The media system 132 can comprise any imaging technology such as a colorLiquid Crystal Display (LCD) on a dashboard of the vehicle 122 or anyother suitable location in the vehicle. The media system 132 can singlyor in combination comprise an audio system such as used by a CD playeror an FM or AM radio integrated in the vehicle 122. The PCD 130 can bean integral part of the vehicle's telemetry system which can access themedia system 132, or can be coupled by common wireless or wirelineinterface means to a controller that manages the media system 132 of thevehicle 122,

In the case of a wireline interface, the PCD 130 can be coupled to thecontroller by way of a cradle that attaches to an electro-mechanicalconnector of the PCD 130. In the case of a PCD 130 supporting a wirelessinterface, said device can, for example, support any number of theaforementioned wireless standards of IEEE. In the present disclosure, itwill be assumed that the PCD 130 is a dual-mode device having a commontransceiver element that supports one of the aforementioned cellulartelephony protocols in a first mode for communicating with the wirelessantennas 103, 104, and 105, and either a Bluetooth standard (IEEE802.15) or a WiFi standard (IEEE 802.11 a, b, g, or n) as a second modefor communicating with the media system 132.

Information such as other services available via the freeway exit 124can be presented on the media system 132. Further, as the vehicle 122and the PCD 130 approach the point of interest 128, information relatedto the point of interest 128 can be automatically transmitted to the PCD130 and presented on said media system 132.

As described in detail below, other information, including trafficalerts, can be transmitted to the PCD 130 and presented on the mediasystem 132.

Referring to FIG. 2, a method of advertising to a media system 132 of avehicle 122 is described and commences at block 200. At block 200, asystem server 102 monitors the presence of and movement of a PCD 130while it is in communication with a network of antennas 103-105(referred to herein as a network) as it travels within a user vehicle122 along a freeway, highway, etc. The location of the PCD 130 can bedetermined from GPS location fixes transmitted by the PCD 130 to theserver 102 when requested thereby. The GPS location fix can bedetermined by a location element (such as a common GPS receiver) of thePCD 130. Alternatively, the server 102 can determine a location fix ofthe PCD 130 by way of a common triangulation technique using RFtelemetry delivered by the wireless antennas 103, 104, and 105. Sincemost freeways are relatively linear, the server 102 can more easilytrack the movement of a PCD 130 and estimate when the PCD will reach aparticular location, e.g., a freeway exit, point of interest, etc.

At decision step 202, the server 102 determines whether the PCD 130 iswithin a predetermined range (e.g., a mile) of a freeway exit 124. Ifnot, the logic returns to block 200 and the server 102 continues tomonitor the location of the PCD 130. At decision step 202, if the PCD130 is within a predetermined range of a freeway exit 124, the methodmoves to block 204 and the server 102 determines the capabilities of themedia system 132 in the vehicle 122 according to vehicle identificationpolled by way of the PCD 130. The vehicle identification can include themake, model and year of the user vehicle 122. The vehicle identificationcan be preprogrammed in the PCD 130 or retrieved by the PCD from acommon telemetry system (or controller) operating in the vehicle 122.With the make, model and year of the vehicle 122, the server 102 candetermine the type of media system 132 used in the vehicle itsdimensions, resolution, color capability, and so on. The server 102 usesthe vehicle identification to query a database for the types of mediafiles supported by the media system 132 of said vehicle 122.

In an illustrative embodiment, the media files supported by the mediasystem 132 can be audio data files, video data files, still image datafiles, etc.

Particularly, the still image data files can be joint photographicexperts group (JPEG) data files, graphics interchange format (GIF) datafiles, tagged image data file format (TIFF) data files, Adobe Photoshop(PSD) data files, portable networks graphics (PNG) data files, windowsmetadata file (WMF) data files, Hypertext (HTML), Java, Flash mediafiles, or any other types of image data files that can be downloaded toand viewed at the media system 132.

Further, the video data files can be moving picture experts group (MPEG)data files, audio video interleave (AVI) data files, Windows media video(WMV) data files, advanced streaming format (ASP) data files, Quicktime(MOV) data files, Real Media (RM) data files, or any other type of videodata files that can be downloaded to and viewed at media system 132.

In a particular embodiment, the audio data files can be MPEG audio layerthree (MP3) data files, waveform audio format (WAV) data files, windowsmedia audio (WMA) data files, OGG data files, Monkey's Audio digitaldata files (APE) data file, VOX data files, Real Audio (RA) data files,synthetic music mobile application format (MMF) data files, musicalinstrument digital interface (MID) data files, phrase format (SPF) datafiles, Qualcomm PureVoice audio data files (QCP) or any other sound datafiles that can be listened to at the portable computing device. In anillustrative embodiment, real-time voice and video can be transmittedusing the real-time protocol (RTP) and the video datagram protocol(VDP).

At block 206, the server 102 determines the time and date. If thecurrent time and date is determined by the server 102 in step 207 to bewithin the hours of operation of the one or more business associatedwith the advertisements to be distributed, then the server 102 proceedsto block 208. Otherwise, the server 102 terminates operation in step220.

Proceeding to block 208, the server 102 retrieves an advertisement froma database. In a particular embodiment, the advertisement is associatedwith a business that is accessible via the freeway exit 124 and theserver retrieves the advertisement based on the capabilities of themedia system 132 as determined in step 204 and the time and datedetermined above. Further, in a particular embodiment, the advertisementis retrieved based on a service level agreement that is associated withthe business.

In an illustrative embodiment, the service level agreement can providefor four tiers of service. For example, the service level agreement canprovide a first service tier that provides for text messageadvertisements, a second service tier that provides for still graphicaladvertisements, a third service tier that provides for streaming videoand audio advertisements, and a fourth service tier that provides forreal-time voice and video advertisements. Moving to block 210, theserver 102 transmits the advertisement to the PCD 130 based on theservice tier and in a format supported by the particular media system132 of the vehicle 122 in which the PCD 130 is located.

In a particular embodiment, advertising customers (i.e., the businessessponsoring the advertisements) can be charged based on the service levelagreement. For example, a fourth service tier advertisement may be themost expensive advertisement and the first service tier advertisementmay be the least expensive advertisement. Since the server 102 polls aPCD 130 to determine a supported media type before sending anadvertisement, advertisements are delivered in the supported format tobe received and viewed at the media system 132. Further, an advertisingcustomer is charged for those advertisements delivered to the mediasystem 132. In other words, an advertising customer may select a fourthservice tier, but the advertising customer may only be charged forfourth service tier advertisements when real-time voice and video can bereceived and viewed at a particular media system 132.

Additionally, since the server 102 determines the time and date beforetransmitting advertisements, advertisements that are associated with aparticular business may not be sent if the business is closed. Further,by monitoring the movement of a PCD 130 while it is in communicationwith a network as it travels within a user vehicle along a freeway,advertisements can be sent for a business at the exit by which thebusiness can be accessed. In an alternative embodiment, the server 102can begin transmitting advertisements one or more exits before the exitby which the business can be accessed. An advertisement customer can payextra to have the server 102 send advertisements to media systems 132 byway of the PCDs 130 one or more exits before the exit by which thebusiness can be accessed. For example, the greater the number of exitsbefore the exit associated with the business at which advertisements aresent, the greater the advertising fee may be charged.

Continuing to decision step 212, the server 102 determines whether thePCD 130 has moved out of range of the freeway exit 124. If not, themethod returns to block 208, and the server retrieves anotheradvertisement from the database and continues as described herein. Atdecision step 212, when the server 102 determines that the PCD 130 hasmoved out of range of the freeway exit 124, the method moves to block214 and the server discontinues transmitting advertisements to the PCD130. Next, at decision step 216, the server 102 determines whether thePCDs communication with the network has ended. If not, the methodreturns to block 200 and continues as described herein. On the otherhand, if the communication with the network has ended, the method movesto block 218 and the server 102 discontinues monitoring the PCD 130. Themethod then ends at state 220.

Upon reviewing the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure, itwould be evident to an artisan with ordinary skill in the art that saidembodiments can be modified, reduced, or enhanced without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the claims described below. For example, theserver 102 can be programmed to monitor traffic at each exit approachedby a vehicle 122 carrying a PCD 130. If there is heavy congestion at aparticular exit, the server 102 can direct one of the antennas 103-105to transmit to the PCD 130 for presentation at the media system 132 atraffic alert corresponding to said congestion. This is but oneenhancement or modification that can be applied to the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, the reader is directed to the claims below fora fuller understanding of the breadth and scope of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 300 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed above. In some embodiments, the machine operatesas a standalone device. In some embodiments, the machine may beconnected (e.g., using a network) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient user machine in server-client user network environment, or as apeer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a device of the present disclosure includes broadly anyelectronic device that provides voice, video or data communication.Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 300 may include a processor 302 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 304 and a static memory 306, which communicate with each othervia a bus 308. The computer system 300 may further include a videodisplay unit 310 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, asolid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system300 may include an input device 312 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 314 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 316, a signal generationdevice 318 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 320.

The disk drive unit 316 may include a machine-readable medium 322 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 324)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein, including those methods illustrated above. The instructions 324may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 304, the static memory 306, and/or within the processor 302during execution thereof by the computer system 300. The main memory 304and the processor 302 also may constitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containinginstructions 324, or that which receives and executes instructions 324from a propagated signal so that a device connected to a networkenvironment 326 can send or receive voice, video or data, and tocommunicate over the network 326 using the instructions 324. Theinstructions 324 may further be transmitted or received over a network326 via the network interface device 320.

While the machine-readable medium 322 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more ofa machine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodicallysuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Otherembodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structuraland logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representationaland may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may beexaggerated, while others may be minimized. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single invention or inventive concept if morethan one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments havebeen illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separately claimed subject matter.

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructionswhich, when executed by a computer, perform acts comprising: determininga location of a portable communication device in communication with adata network as the communication device travels in a vehicle, thecommunication device being removable from and operable independent ofthe vehicle; determining whether the communication device is within adesired range of a target location; polling the communication device toobtain vehicle identification data; determining a type of media filesupported by a media system of the vehicle based upon the vehicleidentification data; obtaining media content in a format correspondingto the determined type of media file; transmitting the media content tothe communication device for presentation on the media system of thevehicle when the communication device is determined to be within thedesired range; determining whether the communication device is outsidethe desired range; and terminating transmission of the media contentwhen the communication device is determined to be outside the desiredrange.
 2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1,wherein the media content comprises an advertisement.
 3. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein thecommunication device transmits the media content to the media system,and wherein the media system presents the media content.
 4. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein thecommunication device transmits the media content to the media systemusing a wireless interface that conforms to any one among IEEE's 802standards, a Bluetooth standard, and a WiFi standard.
 5. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein determiningthe type of media file supported by the media system of the vehiclebased on the vehicle identification data received from the communicationdevice comprises querying a database according to the vehicleidentification data to determine the type of media files supported bythe media system.
 6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 1, wherein the vehicle identification data comprises a make, year,and model identification associated with the vehicle.
 7. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the mediacontent comprises an advertisement associated with a business accessiblevia a freeway exit associated with the target location.
 8. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the mediacontent is transmitted based on a service level agreement of a businessthat includes one or more service tiers, and the business is charged toadvertise based on one of the one or more service tiers.
 9. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the one ormore service tiers comprises at least one among a first service tierproviding text message advertisements, a second service tier providingstill graphical advertisements, a third service tier providing streamingvideo and audio advertisements, and a fourth service tier providingreal-time voice and video advertisements.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the acts further compriseretrieving an advertisement from a database based on a service tierassociated with the business and the type of media file supported by themedia system.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim10, wherein the business is charged for transmitting the media contentbased on the type of media file supported by the media system and theservice tier.